In this article, we are going to take a look at four different kinds of website pop-ups you may encounter. As well as the choices you have and what they mean.
Due to the new privacy laws in Europe, we are seeing a lot more pop-ups notifying users about privacy policies, collection of cookies, and terms of service. Cookies are pieces of information that are being collected when you visit a website. For example, the website might collect the kind of device you are visiting the website from, your location, or any information you may give them. They use this information mostly for advertising purposes or to make filling out forms easier. The new laws in Europe require the websites to be more transparent about collecting this information.
These pop ups have words like cookies, privacy policy, terms of services. For cookies, you have to accept them if you want to use the website. If you have the option of closing out of the pop-up rather than accepting, you can, but you are still basically accepting them. Some websites allow users to pick and choose pieces, but not very many.
Your browser may warn you that a website wants to or is using your location. You can block or allow these requests. You may also change your choice at any time. Why would a website need to know where you are? If you are looking a chain store, you may want to know if an item is located at the location nearest to you, in this case turning on location is useful. Many other websites want to know where you are to show you local advertisements. This isn’t as useful. In this case, it requires some critical thinking skills to determine if you should allow or block. Your choice and you can always change your mind.
Many websites have newsletters that you can sign up for including my own. And some of these websites have pop-ups that ask if you want to sign up. If you want the newsletter, put in your email address and press the get button. If you don’t, find the “No Thanks” or equivalent button. Some get really small or may be snarky. This is your choice. You can unsubscribe at any time, by pressing the unsubscibe (bottom, small font) in the email you received.
Notifications are announcements from the website that you can sign up for. They are sometimes called push notifications. They can appear at any time and generally appear in the bottom right corner of a computer screen or on the notifications page of a smartphone/tablet. These notifications can be about a new product, new article, or just letting you know that you haven’t visited in a while. You can opt in to see to get these notifications. You can change your mind as well.
You may also see pop-ups for products. Look for the close option in the upper right corner.
In the next article, we will show you how to clear your cookies, turn off location services and notifications, and unsubscribe from a newsletter.
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